We are traveling to another dimension, a Journey into wondrous land (click here for the iconic Twilight Zone  intro I ripped this off from)

Cruising Planning…. As the countdown to going off the grid approaches gentle controlled panic ensues.   Suddenly, there seems to be and inverse relationship between less time and getting our to-do list whacked down.  Like some weird Twilight Zone throwback scene, we’re spinning, spinning, spinning…. 

Why the panic?

Flags, ships, slicing kit, weather radio, airhorn, New Zealand/Australia chart chip… Love my West Marine employee discount.

> 6 weeks, November 18th 2014

• All drydock work needs to be finished on our boat
• sanding bottom and repaint anti-barnacle and bootstripe paint
• buff cockpit
• redo our rigging, which includes puling our main mast
• complete v-drive fix
• LOTs more…
• we “splash” — our boat goes back into the water

Plasticized world map we can write on and erase. Great for mulling over various route options, visually.

> 2 months, December 1, 2014, we will

• no longer have 24/7 reliable internet
• no longer have a consistent phone connection
• no longer have a mailing address we trust to directly receive packages 
• complete basic medical maintenance consisting of at least 14 poked-and-prodded doctor and dentist appointments, then say goodbye to our brief stint of employer-paid US medical coverage
• jettison all temporary landlubber possessions, purging
• bed, couch, chair, kitchen table and barstools, desk, dresser, chest, 3 lamps, microwave, blender, toaster, coffeetable, vacuum cleaner, underutilized clothes
• get the next vetted renter for the apartment we’re in (to avoid a hefty broken lease penalty)
• correctly time payoff and shutoff of all services rent, internet, power/water/sewer and trash pickup
• return to full-time boat live-aboard in 150 square feet
• reconfigure our fridge/freezer (prior to move on)
• replace our missing galley countertop bottom (prior to move on)

Lonely Planet Guides are great for finding inexpensive activities.

>  3 months, mid-December 2014, we’ll

• Complete all our food provisioning from the US  (that’s as many non-perishables as we can possibly cram into our boat and not sink it)
• Purchase everything else in our budget best purchased from the US to last us the next 2 years
• Kiss my awesome West Marine employee discount goodbye
• No longer own a 
• car
• bicycle
• US phone service
• Say goodbye to friends, family and everything we’ve become familiar with on land

Mural in our temporary Jacksonville neighborhood reminds us liftoff is approaching.

My boater’s equivalent to “Did I remember to turn the bath water off?” is…. Did I remember to get and do everything that needed to be done before leaving “civilization” as we know it… for two years, give or take whatever adventures occur over the 8,000 mile journey we have planned at the speed of a fast walk (on water).

Once we take off… our life gets a lot simpler.  I can hardly wait!

Questions for You

1. If you’re a cruiser, what advice do you have, especially what might we not know we need to do until it’s too late?
2. If you’re a cruiser wanna-be, does this give you a sense for prep?  What else do you most want to know?
3. If there’s no way in heck you’d ever do this in a million years, what did you find most interesting in reading about this?

Location Location

Our Pearson 365 sailboat on the hard at Green Cove Springs, awaiting a bottom job, the water and us.